More or less--rather more than less. My sense is that the DIADHMA was of
metal interlaced like a STEFANOS, the STEFANOS made of flowers or plants
interlaced--parsley in the STEFANOI at Olympia, laurel at Delphi. Perhaps
the STEFANOS of thorns is so called because of the material of which it was
composed, but the story of the crown of thorns does seem to indicate that
it was a mark of royal dignity, like the reed cane. I've sometimes wondered
whether Mark (I assume Marcan priority for the narrative, without being
able to prove it) knew and had in mind the indications reported in Tacitus
that the praetorian guard in Rome found Claudius hiding after the
assassination of Caligula and originally made him emperor as a joke, then
let it stand.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/